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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



position as the other speakers in regard 

 to the relation of taxation to state regu- 

 lation, and made an argument for the 

 feasibility and desirability of some form 

 of state regulation under a proper and 

 equitable scheme of taxation. That is 

 another story, so far as our present 

 purpose is concerned, which is to show 

 the uniform trend of the discussion in 

 its bearing on taxation. Mr. Pack's 

 brief paper, which we publish, runs 

 along the same line. 



The idea in regard to the funda- 

 mental plan of taxation advanced by 

 all of these gentlemen coincides with 

 that embodied in recent platforms of 

 the American Forestry Association and 

 other organizations, including the able 

 discussions before the International 

 Tax Conference. This essential unanim- 

 ity shows that the thinking upon this 

 question during the last two or three 

 years has brought about a rapid clari- 

 fying of ideas. The next thing is to 

 make the conclusions that have been 

 arrived at effective through legislation. 

 This means that we must carry further 

 the knowledge of the principles that 

 relate to forest taxation, so that public 

 opinion will become active on the sub- 

 ject. In Massachusetts the question 

 has been brought forward in an at- 

 tempt to have an amendment to the 

 constitution introduced, permitting the 

 classification of property for purposes 

 of taxation. In the arguments on this 

 proposition before the special commis- 

 sion thesubjectof forest taxation played 

 a prominent part.* The commission, 

 much to the surprise of the people of 

 the state, reported against the amend- 

 ment, but the fight is still on and will 

 probably ultimately be won. When it 

 is there is every likelihood that Mas- 

 sachusetts will add a modern taxation 

 measure to its growing body of excel- 

 lent forest law. There are many other 

 states, however, in which action on this 

 point is even more important to the 

 forest interests of the country. Here, 

 also, is a subject that may properly in- 

 terest the enthusiasts for uniform legis- 



*In this connection a statement recently 

 made by Henry James, Jr., of the Massachu- 

 setts Forestry Association, is of interest. It 

 will be found on another page. 



lation, for it is a field in which uni- 

 formity would be beneficial. 



^ ^ V>i 



The Need of Private Forestry 



THE Chief of the Forest Service 

 made an important contribution to 

 the discussion of that phase of the for- 

 est problem that relates to the practice 

 of forestry on private holdings in an 

 address to the National Lumber Dealers' 

 Association in New Orleans, on the 19th 

 of April. We have always urged that 

 the forest problem involves the ele- 

 ments of national, state, municipal, and 

 individual action. A common fault of 

 the American people is to depend too 

 much upon legislation to settle all of 

 their difficulties, and it is well for us 

 to be reminded sometimes of the duties 

 and the opportunities of the individual. 

 This Mr. Graves did in the address to 

 which we refer. 



"The more I study into this subject 

 of private iorestry," he said, "the more 

 I am convinced that what is needed is 

 not immediate legislation, but an im- 

 mediate beginning of the practical op- 

 eration of forestry, and I am convinced 

 that the results of such a beginning will 

 be conclusive evidence that American 

 lumbermen are fully capable of meeting 

 the conservation problem both from the 

 standpoint of the permanent require- 

 ments of the lumber trade and from 

 that of the continued prosperity of the 

 public at large." 



Mr. Graves, however, is no doctrin- 

 aire, and cherishes no illusions in re- 

 gard to the immediate results. He said 

 that the immediate general application 

 of scientific forestry over large hold- 

 ings would not be practical because it 

 would involve a considerable invest- 

 ment with no certainty as to the returns 

 to be expected, and it is also necessary 

 that a preliminary working out of 

 methods of cutting and fire protection 

 should be had. Mr. Graves is not only 

 cautious, but he is also definite and con- 

 structive in his recommendations and, 

 as might have been expected, he has a 

 program to propose: 



(i) That those lumbermen who are inter- 

 ested in this matter make an immediate test 

 of the practice of forestry on their holdings; 



